The kbbreview Podcast

Think you’ve got no chance of winning a kbbreview Retail & Design Award ? Let the judges decide. In this special bonus episode, kbbreview editor Andrew Davies explains how to give your 2027 entry the best possible shot. From choosing your categories to showing the judges what makes you stand out, he covers the essentials, the common mistakes and why you don’t need the biggest showroom or the f...

Big promises, a new boss and a structural shake-up at the KBSA. New managing director Luke Wedgbury joins Andy Davies to set out his manifesto for change – and explains why he and the board want to give independent retailers compelling new reasons to join while potentially making it harder to get in. As the owner of Coalville Kitchens in Leicestershire, Wedgbury knows that a badge on the showroom...

What do retailers actually need from suppliers to help sell their products? This week, kbbreview editor Andy Davies is joined by Trevor Scott from RFK, Steph Warner from Pier One Bathrooms and Nick Warrington from Stuart J Warrington to discuss brochures and the other sales materials suppliers provide. Where does a printed brochure fit into the sales process? Is it a catalogue for designers or a s...

The debate around engineered stone and silica is moving quickly. Australia has banned it , California is considering strict limits and, here in the UK, the HSE is focusing on making sure it is fabricated safely . But what does all this mean for independent kitchen and bathroom retailers? This week, our retailer panel discusses how much they really know about the way their worktops are fabricated,...

Don't scroll past this one! The very fact that you probably rolled your eyes when you saw this episode was about sustainability is at the heart of today's discussion. Climate change is obviously an enormous issue affecting humanity and, as a result, sustainability is one of the biggest talking points among kitchen and bathroom manufacturers. But why does no one seem to actually care when t...

Why is franchising suddenly booming in the KBB industry? Ripples managing director Paul Crow joins Andy Davies to discuss how the bathroom franchise has almost doubled its showroom network in five years – despite an unpredictable retail market where footfall remains under pressure. Paul explains why attitudes towards franchising have changed, why Ripples has deliberately resisted chasing growth fo...

Lakes Showering Spaces is celebrating its 40th anniversary, but rather than simply looking back, Marten Baker joins Andy Davies to talk about how a specialist shower door brand keeps moving forward in one of the most competitive areas of the bathroom market. They discuss the importance of service, ease of installation and long-term availability of spare parts; why longevity increasingly matters in...

If one successful showroom is good, surely two must be better? More customers, more displays, more sales and a bigger business. Simple, right? Well, perhaps not. In this episode of The kbbreview Podcast, our regular panel of independent KBB retailers gets into the realities of opening that all-important second showroom. How do you know when the time is right to expand? How do you choose the right...

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ups and downs and ins and outs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This week we’re talking about something that every business owner needs to think about – but probably not enough of them actually do - succession planning. And that doesn’t just mean deciding what happens when you eventually retire or sell the business. Wha...

The Government says it wants to crack down on 'cowboy' traders in the home improvement market– but what does that actually mean for legitimate kitchen and bathroom retailers and installers? In this episode of The kbbreview Podcast, host Andy Davies talks to Trusted Payments founder James Walker about the new government-backed initiative designed to protect consumers and good businesses. He's at th...

Season 19 of The kbbreview Podcast is here – and the Fab Four are back! Trevor Scott, Liz Pantling-Jones, Nick Warrington and Steph Warner return after the summer break to answer the simplest question with the most complicated answer: how’s business? From footfall, leads and consumer confidence to changing client behaviour and the strategies that are actually working, we take the temperature of th...

Bathshack started life as an online-only bathroom retailer in 2009. Three years later it opened its first showroom – and discovered something surprising: physical stores actually boosted its online sales. Now, after building a network of 13 showrooms across Ireland and Northern Ireland, founder and CEO Peter Dunlop has brought Bathshack to England for the first time with a new store in Cheadle. So...

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and out and ups and down of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. And this is a surprise bonus episode before we officially start our new season in a couple of weeks time as we managed to catch up with Sophie Rose the CEO of Magnet to get an update on what's happening with them. And, as I'm sure you've been following, a lot...

What really makes a business set to last? Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This is the final episode in a very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue. We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews,...

Resilience 2026: Julie McLean from Hansgrohe What really makes a business set to last? Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This is another in our very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue. We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retail...

What really makes a business set to last? Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This is the latest in a very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue. We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwaver...

Resilience 2026: Howard Grindrod from HIsense What really makes a business set to last? Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This is another of our very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue. We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retai...

What really makes a business set to last? Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This is the latest episode in our special series marking our 500th issue all about resilience and longevity in business We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, bi...

What really makes a business set to last? Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. This is the first in a very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue. We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwaveri...

Your website is probably the hardest-working member of your team, but is it actually doing the job you need it to? This week, the retailer panel of Trevor Scott, Nick Warrington, Liz Pantling-Jones and Steph Warner tackles one of the biggest investments independent kitchen and bathroom retailers make: their website. From first impressions and case studies to pricing, lead generation and analytics,...

This week we're talking to Graham Johnston, the new owner and CEO of Kitchens International, following the management buyout that has returned one of Scotland's best-known luxury kitchen retailers to independent ownership. After a career leading customer experience and digital transformation at companies including Three, Optical Express and Asda, Graham explains why he believes the future of kitch...

This week we’re tackling one of the oldest frustrations in independent KBB retail - the battle between the physical showroom and online. For years, retailers have had to deal with customers finding products cheaper online after using the showroom for inspiration, advice and reassurance. But has that problem changed? Have selective distribution agreements helped level the playing field? And are bat...

Running an independent KBB business can be hugely rewarding, but it also comes with a level of pressure that customers rarely see. Behind every successful showroom is a business owner juggling cashflow, managing staff, making difficult decisions and carrying the responsibility of keeping the whole operation moving forward. In this episode we're talking openly about the worries and concerns that co...

Is the traditional independent KBB retailer being squeezed out of the middle? As the likes of Wren, Howdens, DIY Kitchens and Victorian Plumbing continue to push further up the value chain, many independent retailers are finding themselves caught in a tightening gap between volume and luxury. So what happens when the middle ground starts to disappear? kbbreview editor Andy Davies is joined as alwa...

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast , the show all about the ups and downs and ins and outs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer. And today we're talking about the old chestnut of charging for design - it's a seemingly perennial subject but rather than focusing on whether you should or shouldn't, we're looking at how to do it if you decide you should. What are the pros and cons of th...